The Slightest Touch
by Poison Fairy
Summary: If she is a flower, then I am her stem to support her, and he is the sun she reaches to. A story of unrequited love.
1. Stitches in My Heart

_She's much prettier than I ever could have imagined. And, not in the way that the former bearers and proto-types are or were 'pretty'. Her beauty is that of a humble flower, even if she doesn't quite act like one. It's funny, though, how she doesn't seem to acknowledge me at all, even though she does in a way. A way being that as her chauffer, and telling her what her next or current mission is, and sometimes even going someplace to get her or her young daughter something. I've seen the look in her eyes when she looks at Takayama, or when she talks about him. And I've seen the gleam in his eyes when he looks at or talks to her. It's none of my business I suppose. I should just stay out of it and out of harm's way... right?_

* * *

A loud clatter of breaking glass sounded from the kitchen as well as a scream beyond the white double-doors leading to it. The kitchen attendant who was just leaving the restroom had a frustrated look on his face as he quickly walked with heavy steps towards the kitchen, pushed open the swinging doors, and cried out, "_MASANE?!"_ Inside the kitchen Rihoko was shaking her head and rubbing her forehead with her hand as her mother, Masane Amaha, was sprawled on the ground with broken glass from some plates she had dropped scattered around her. The kitchen attendant yelled at her some more, his words being muffled from the expensive double doors, being made indefinable beyond them. Rihoko put on some small gloves that she had brought with her that day in the pocket of her pink overalls and began to pick up the glass. Some blood trickled from the woman's arm from some glass that had embedded into it. The man sighed and said to Rihoko that he would clean it up and that she should get her mother into the infirmary. She nodded and thanked him and proceeded to do so.

"_Mom_, you need to be more careful around fragile things!" chastised Rihoko to her mother. She was a young girl of the age of six with her black hair down save for a pair of small pig-tails high on the sides of her head. She wore today an outfit of a white long-sleeved shirt and light-pink overalls over them and a pair of pink flats. She sat in a comfy green chair across from her mother who sat in the medical chair/recliner across from her. She wore her usual yellow jacket with a black tank-top underneath and blue jeans. She grumbled and rumpled her hair with her hand.

"Ooh... I know, Riko. I was just trying to help you out in the kitchen for once!" she explained with a chuckle.

"That's what you said last time mom." she mumbled. Rihoko had a sour expression on until Masane started tickling her. They both laughed. The automatic sliding door to Rihoko's right slid open and a young man stepped inside. Masane looked skeptically at him.

"What are_ you _doing here?" she asked him.

A look of surprise and shock took to Rihoko's face as she asked, "Whoa! Mr. Segawa, are_ you_ a_ doctor_?" He pushed up his dark-blue glasses and chuckled.

"No, I'm not, Rihoko. But I am a certified nurse. And the doctor happens to be off today and his substitute called in sick a few hours ago, so I'll be replacing him for the day." Hiroki Segawa replied to her in a pleasant tone. He went over to the washing area and washed his hands, then putting on some white elastic gloves. He turned to the young woman of twenty-three sitting in the recliner chair. "So, Masane, what have you done to get you landed in here?" he casually asked her, not really expecting her answer to be anything very interesting or unique, as it usually wasn't.

"I just fell and dropped a few plates and a shard scratched me. It's no big deal!" she muttered, not wishing to stay any longer. He gently took hold of her left arm and examined the wound with a magnifying glass. A few sizable pieces of glass protruded from the four-inch gash. Rihoko was leaning out of her seat trying to look at the injury as well, although with a slightly disgusted look on her face. The twenty-five year old man set down the tool on the table beside him and announced to his patient,

"Well, Masane, it looks like you'll be needing stitches. We will proceed with this now. You have the options of either being sedated and awake, where you will feel no pain, or you may be asleep and sedated until it's over." A repulsed look came on Masane's face as she put her hands up close to her in a fearful manner.

"Ugh, put me asleep! I don't think I could stand watching you operate on me!"

"…It's only stitches, Masane." he muttered. He went to a drawer in a cabinet behind him and took out a syringe. He shuffled through another drawer looking for something else. The woman stared at him, horrified all the way, from the time she saw a glimpse of the syringe to when he turned back around to her with some liquid inside of it.

"Just what is _that_?!" she demanded, her eyes ever-staring at the syringe in his hand with the index finger of her un-injured arm pointing accusingly at it.

"It's the sleep sedation." he calmly said to her, fixing again his glasses on the bridge of his nose with his index and middle finger. "Now, if you'll please just close your eyes, you'll be asleep soon enough."

"B-But—!"

"_Mom! _Just do it and get it over with!" Rihoko whined. Segawa added,

"Besides, wouldn't you rather get this one shot and not have to see me taking out the glass and putting in the stitches, or get a shot and watch it all happen?" Amaha exhaled deeply and finally gave in in a grumble.

"Wow, Mr. Segawa!" exclaimed Rihoko, "You can do everything!" Not the slightest touch of sarcasm was in the sentence of the young girl. He laughed.

"Thank you, Rihoko. I try my best. Now then, would you like to stay in the room or leave? I believe Mr. Takayama is taste-testing out some sweets that might be at the party tomorrow if you would like to join him." he said to her. A look of pure joy excitement took to the girl's sweet face as she sped out of the room. She peeked around the door's corner a short moment later to yell,

"Bye mommy! I'll see you later!"

"Bye…honey, see you…later…" Masane said, her voice trailing off into a whisper. When the girl was running out of the room, Masane's mind has been preoccupied, and so Segawa gave her the shot and within seconds the young woman had fallen asleep. He pulled up a stool to her chair and began pulling out the shards of glass in her skin with a pair of silver tweezers from the tray next to him. Her regeneration and healing were very quick due to the Witchblade having chosen her so it was only a matter of time that her wound would heal up after he had finished taking out the glass and putting on some antiseptic ointment on the wound. Her hair looked like she had just gotten out of bed, as usual, and so out of some courtesy he brushed it for her.

Hiroki's smile had disappeared by now as he continued to gently brush Masane's short brown hair. The sleep sedation would wear off in a few minutes. He took off his gloves and glasses and set them on the desk behind him. The brightness in the room dimmed a bit as the evening set in. A golden glow cast against Amaha's soft skin. He brushed back some hair from her forehead. A peaceful expression was on her face. He took her left hand and held it lightly between his.

"Masane…" whispered Hiroki tenderly. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on her shoulder. "It's unfair…"

* * *

**I've always loved this couple, Masanegawa, Hisane, Masaroki, whatever, you name it whatever you like since the official coupling name doesn't seem to exist yet here :(. I mean, Tozawa seemed to have loved Masane, and Takayama loved Masane, but what about poor Segawa-kun? Is there no one for him to love and no one to love him?! (~T_T~) **(It should be obvious by now that I am a girl.)

It's unlikely that I'll ever finish this story, just like most of my stories, just to warn you.

**I thank you for reading, and comments are always appreciated, no matter how critical. **


	2. Sweet Embrace

_If it's for her own happiness, then I don't mind being trampled on. I will be a rabbit and she will be a lion, so that she may devour me in order for her to survive. I will be the glass to contain her, the wine. I will be the vase for her flowers, and the stems to give her water to continue living. If only I was like a vase or a flower, and not have to feel this pain inside. _

* * *

"Hey, honey! How were the sweets? Did you save any for me?" Masane asked as she heard the click that the automatic door always made when about to slide open. The ever-stoic Reiji Takayama walked in, not really paying any mind to Masane, and said to her,

"I hope you weren't referring to me, _sweetie_." A frustrated expression was on Masane face as she hit the recliner chair with her fists.

"Of course not you — !" she started. Rihoko bounded into the room wearing a joyful expression and skipped to her mother. "Rihoko! How are you kiddo? How were the sweets? Did _you_ save me any? 'Cause this bum didn't." she asked her, finishing her last sentence in a whisper.

Rihoko nodded cheerfully and replied, "Yep! Me and Mr. Takayama brought some back to our room!" She leaned closer to her mother and put her hand between her mouth and Masane's ear. "But, to tell you the truth, I don't think he really wanted to. Maybe he thinks they'll make you fat?" she said, trying to whisper. Takayama and Segawa were discussing something at the time but the older man of thirty-four turned around to declare,

"I heard that! And I didn't want to bring the rest of the desserts to your room because we weren't supposed to eat all of the samples!" Masane retorted and this sort of playful teasing and arguing continued for another minute or so, all the while with Rihoko and Segawa looking at the bickering two and occasionally each other with bored expressions on their faces. The 'argument' concluded with Masane storming out the room, dragging Rihoko (who waved good-bye to the two men) with her, saying that they were about to devour the rest of the food. Reiji was left grumbling to himself and rubbing his forehead with his muscular palm.

"I can talk to the cook and kitchen staff later, if you like sir. I'll explain to them what happened, more or less." Segawa offered. Takayama nodded.

"I trust that you will make it believable, Segawa." he commented. By this, he meant that if the young man said what was actually the truth or a story that would make the company Takayama at fault for the loss of all the samples, then a bill would be charged to Takayama, personally. The party that would take place the next day was in celebration of the a very successful business deal where it was originally thought that Douji Group Industries could ever take on and make.

"Yes, sir." replied Segawa. He gave a short bow to the Director and began to walk out of the room with his clipboard in his hand. Upon thinking of the details of the ball, Reiji suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Segawa," he said to his assistant.

"Yes, sir?"

"You wouldn't happen to know if Masane has a dress picked out for tomorrow, would you?" Takayama asked, he was already rubbing his temple with his forefingers, doubting that the woman even owned such a thing. Segawa raised his eyebrows and pushed up his glasses. Light from the setting sun reflected from his glasses, making his eyes unclear, although it could be guessed what his expression was.

"…I don't believe so, sir, would you like me to order one for her?" he enquired. Takayama shook his head. He walked towards the door, Segawa opened it for him and the two exited.

"That won't do. She'll have to try on some herself. And, knowing that woman, she might choose something inappropriate for such an event and so we will attend with her." Reiji Takayama stated. They were approaching the room occupied by the two Amaha. The door was unlocked, as predicted by the two men, Takayama knocked twice, turned the knob of the door, and opened it, followed by the form of Masane falling backwards from the bed a few feet from the door.

Hiroki's eyes looked up in surprise to see her falling. He was about to make a move to catch her, or at least cushion her fall, but all that resulted was his clipboard being gripped tightly by his hands. Reiji had already stepped forth and caught her. A glint of light from his glasses hid the emotion of one of his eyes, but luckily for him no one was paying attention to him.

Takayama helped Masane back to her feet. "Just what in the world were you doing?" he asked her, wiping a smear of yellow icing from his hand on a handkerchief handed to him by his assistant. She turned around and laughed as she scratched the back of her head with her hand.

"We were jumping on the beds and eating those yummy cakes!" she said, she gave him a cheesy smile, hoping to calm his annoyance of her. Rihoko leaped impressively from her bed to the bed closest to the three.

"_No_, _you _were jumping and eating the cake! _I_ was just jumping!" the girl chided.

"Oh, you know that's what I meant Riko!" There seemed to be some smeared icing of several colors on Masane's top, and crumbs of the sweets scattered all over the bed, around it, and where Takayama had caught her. The older man straightened his tie

"Right…well, clean yourself up Masane. It's doubtful that you have an appropriate dress for the ball tomorrow so we are going…," Takayama stated, he then sighed, "dress shopping…" Masane's eyes went wide and her jaw practically dropped. She turned to Rihoko, grabbed her hands, and cried,

"We're going _dress shopping!!!_" In the background of the two females' whoops and cheers, Segawa was calling the service to send up some attendants to clean up the room. Takayama cleared his throat amidst the celebration to say that they would be leaving in five minutes and so had better hurry up. Rihoko Amaha jumped off the bed and alighted to the floor and dragged her mother to the bathroom.

"C'mon mommy! We're going _shopping_!" she yelled. They heard a faucet turn on and water run and the clatter of clothes-hangers banging against each other.

"Director," Segawa said, "Is it okay for the girl to come along? I don't believe that children are prohibited but—."

"No, it's fine. She could actually be beneficial to us. I heard that Masaya Wado will be attending the party, and if we're in the company of a child like Rihoko then he may be a bit more pleasant towards us." Takayama said to him.

Segawa nodded and flipped out his cell-phone. "Understood, I will request a children's tailor for the boutique we are going to." he said as he dialed in some numbers. Only seconds after Reiji and Segawa were exiting the room did the two girls madly dash out of the bathroom.

"Sorry we took so long!" Masane said loudly. Her outfit looked just as it had only three minutes before, but it was likely that she had a closet full of the exact same shirts, jeans, and jackets. Segawa checked his wristwatch.

"It's only been three minutes." he said with a laugh."Let's get going!" Reiji gruffly said, power-walking out the door. Masane looked angry and stormed after him yelling,

"Wait up ya big gorilla!" She continued to yell at him in the way she did when aggravated and talking, although her words were indefinable from where Segawa and the girl were. Segawa sighed and fixed the temples of his glasses. He looked down to Rihoko.

"Well, miss Rihoko, we had better get going!" he said to her with a smile. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep!" she skipped ahead of him and he locked the door behind them. A minute later they filed into the car chauffeured by Segawa himself and they drove off to the expensive store where they would buy the dresses and other things. Four women greeted them at the door of the boutique. All but one were around in their late twenties, the other one being in her late thirties or early forties; two escorted Rihoko to one area of the room and two escorted Masane, Takayama, and Segawa to the other side.

"So, Miss Rihoko, how old are you?" asked the older of the ladies. She had dyed brown hair with many noticeable streaks of platinum blonde pulled tightly against her scalp into a strange bun with three ornate black and green chopsticks sticking out of it. Rihoko put on a forced smile and replied cheerfully,

"I am _six_ years old!"

"Oh, that's nice dear!" the lady replied as she and the other woman continued making measurements of her. The other woman had orange hair in soft waves down to her shoulders with some pleasant blue eye-shadow on. She said to Rihoko,

"Forgive us, Miss Rihoko, we aren't very used to fitting children so this may take a little while longer than your mother." Rihoko beamed. Finally, she was being spoken to like an adult!

"Oh, that's fine!" she said.

Meanwhile… Masane Amaha was being fitted into several dresses that weren't even suitable for the ball. Such as a maid dress, a fan-service-like cat-costume, a Lolita-style dress, and a tiger-print dress. All of which Reiji and Segawa had to put their hands to their foreheads, in embarrassment and/or disapproval, and shake their heads. She was put into some undesirable frumpy gowns, and cocktail dresses, as well as leather outfits and sailor-fuku.

"Do I look pretty Mr. Segawa?" Rihoko asked in the utmost seriousness. She approached him from the side of the sofa that he sat on. She wore a light-pink dress with thick straps and sheer almost-white pink silk sleeves that fell just off her shoulders. The dress had an off-white sash around her waist with a bow in the back as the dress fell to her knees, billowing out from her waist. She had on white tights and white shoes with a small heel to it. Segawa smiled at her. He straightened the pink clip with a sakura blossom on it in her hair and said to her,

"You look _very _pretty Rihoko, like the refined young lady you are." She beamed and thanked him. The older attendant lady called out to Rihoko for some final tailoring, and Rihoko went over to her and the young woman, some confidence was noticeable in her expression and stride.

At long last after so many unsuccessful outfits, Masane Amaha exited the dressing room once more. Reiji and Segawa looked up in awe. Although barefoot, the dress of ivory was stunning on her. Hugging tightly her body until her knees, the dress had a slit that parted from just above between her knees and growing wider with the silk feathered and waved at the edges. Thin straps held the torso-area of her dress together near the tops of her breasts, a collar of sheer light-pink fabric made an open collar that followed along the insides of the dress' in the same wavering way as the bottom of the dress was made. The back of the dress' top revealed her back to below her shoulder blades, this area to the top of the neck being covered in that same sheer-light pink fabric. Silk white gloves with loose wavy edges came a few inches above her elbows. From her ear were long diamond-shaped pearl earrings and in her still somewhat messy hair was a large pale lavender fake flower.

"Well, what do you think?" she grumbled. Her legs were spread and her fists rested on her hips in a way very unfashionable for a lady.

"Whoa…" was all Hiroki could manage to whisper. Takayama gazed still in awe. One of the beauticians came from the dressing room and said to the men and woman that the tailoring was finished. She handed Masane a pair of white shoes with thin heels of about an inch and walked away. Masane grumbled and put on the shoes. She walked towards them and down the few steps leading to their sofa complaining,

"I don't see why the hell I have to go—!" Her ankle suddenly moved awkwardly, being in heels and all, and she stumbled down the last two steps, and tripped towards Segawa who was sitting in the sofa before her. The young man grabbed a pillow next to him and put it before him to cushion where she would fall.

"_Aahhhh!_" Masane screamed as she fell forward and into the poor man, her ribcage being cushioned by the pillow, although the rest of her torso landing more or less on Segawa. Perhaps it was by luck, but Masane's body was tilted to the right of his, and so blocking the view from Takayama of Segawa's blushing face as Masane's breasts pressed against his chin and cheek, her right hand grasping the fabric of his suit on his chest.

The slightest touch of her already made him feel like his sorrows had been washed away, even if for a short while, and a new warmth envelope him, but this new encounter with Masane Amaha was completely unpredictable. He could feel the warmth of her body pressing against him, he could hear the beating of their hearts surging simultaneously, the feeling of her cheek against his temple, and the smell of her hair. Hiroki almost wanted to embrace her at this moment. Almost.

"_Mom_? What are you doing?" Rihoko asked, for she had popped up to Segawa's side at this moment. All was done with Rihoko's tailoring and she was now back in her normal attire. He heard Masane growl. She tightened her grip on his jacket and pushed herself off from him. From years of training, Segawa's blush had disappeared by now as he re-set his glasses as they had become crooked from her fall.

"Hey, honey! How do you like my dress?" Masane asked, disregarding her daughter's question.

"You look beautiful mommy! And you'll get to see _my _dress tomorrow!" exclaimed Rihoko. Masane said that she couldn't wait and the two laughed and talked about silly things that they would (not) do at the party the next day.

Hiroki gazed endearingly at Masane, his heart still fluttering from their sudden encounter. He turned his head around to look at Takayama. Their eyes locked, Reiji's grey ones and Segawa's brown eyes. The lingering look in Segawa's eyes quickly faded away and he began writing the checks for the clothes.

* * *

**Thank you so much, Rpgingmaster and AP-Rhapsody, really, for reviewing chapter one. It's been so long since I've last had a review of any of my stories, so they always really make me feel nice inside, like the feeling of being acknowledged. It was for you two that I decided to write chapter two so soon, so thank you. **

**It was on the day that I finished chapter one that I as feeling weird because of my on unrequited love, but not in the past two days, so I apologize if this chapter does not match up to the emotional content and/or degree that the first chapter may have held. **

**Reviews are always appreciated, regardless of how critical, short, or flame-ey.**


	3. Worthy

_I used to kid myself that it was unfair. After all, I was the first she met when she came to Douji. I was the one who had to search for her myself, and take different roles in order to find her. I've been her errand boy, her cook, her nurse, her chauffer, … her secret admirer that does nothing but stand at a distance and watch from afar. I'm kinder, and politer, and nicer to her than him. I'm only two years older than her, and he's just a year over a decade! I've even formed a nice relationship with her daughter whom he doesn't even seem to care for much. Is it fair? I suppose it makes sense then. He is after all my employer. A man with greater power, both physically and through status, and has and makes more money. His voice is deeper than mine, he has that enigmatic quality that I've heard women go crazy for. I am his puppet for him to control, so of course it makes sense that she should look at the manipulator, not the marionette. _

* * *

"Goodbye now, Miss Rihoko! Have a nice evening!" said the older beautician in the tone that many adults use towards children. Rihoko turned around and waved her hand enthusiastically at the woman and the other ladies who bowed to them as they walked out the doors. Segawa was now carrying the bags which held the dresses as Rihoko held two boxes with her mother and her shoes inside.

Why Segawa was carrying the bags was because just moments earlier Masane had been holding them and swinging them about madly as she and her daughter talked excitedly about the upcoming party. Takayama warned her about not fooling around with the dresses (especially since they were more expensive than it is worth mentioning). After almost hitting a bag against the glass doors, Reiji confiscated them from the elated woman and handed them to his assistant.

He drove them back to Douji Group Industries and escorted the two females to their rooms and then followed Takayama back to his grand office. All the while he tried to act as usual, making the usual eye-contact with Takayama, regardless of how much Segawa didn't want to. Takayama went straight to his desk before the wall of glass windows. Silver moonlight cast into the room, giving a gleam to Takayama's hair and skin as he gazed out the window.

"Director, if you don't have a suit ready for tomorrow would you like me to prepare one for you?" Segawa asked as he worked on some data and Takayama's schedule with the high-tech touch-screen green clipboard of his. He tried to shake off the feelings that still lingered within his heart that had resulted from what happened an hour ago. Without turning around in his seat Takayama replied,

"No, that's fine. I already have a suit prepared for me, all that's needed are a few other things which I will get myself." Knowing better than to ask Takayama if he would like for him to get those items, Segawa nodded and said that he understood. Another few minutes passed as the two discussed plans and the progress of the Witchblade. As Segawa was about to take his leave the man stopped him.

"One more thing, Segawa.""Yes, sir?"

"Because Masane will be my 'arm-candy' for tomorrow's ball, our excuse will be that she is my date, rather than an employee of the company, and Rihoko is her niece whom she is caring for a few days, understood?"

"I understand. Have a goodnight director."

The second the doors shut behind him, a sorrowful look came into his light-brown eyes, he looked down for a few seconds, looked back up, exhaled, and proceeded to the elevator and went down a few stories. He walked to room fifteen. Residing just down the hall in room eleven were the Amahas. A middle-aged house-keeper was walking his way towards Segawa pushing a cart with several plates with silver dome-lids over them. From the smell wafting from them it was presumably food. The old man nodded to Segawa and greeted him, "Good evening, sir."

"Good evening." he replied, although it was technically morning, it being past twelve and all. Upon approaching his room, Segawa took out his card and slid it through the scanning device. A device in the bullet-proof door gave a _click;_ he opened it and went inside. Upon entering a few lamps turned on automatically, giving off a warm feeling with the faded ivory painted walls. His room was furnished much like Masane and Rihoko's, except smaller since it had only one bed unlike theirs. The comforter and sheets were a creamy-white as were the pillows with the mattress being white. On the walls were painting that were there on default as well as some pictures and certificates of Hiroki Segawa. He put down his phone on his wooden bed stand and flopped onto the bed on his back.

On the wall to where the headboard of his bed was was a picture of two Special Section workers in medical-wear and himself, smiling in the picture at the camera-man as he took a picture of the three on their first MEW (Medical Emergency; Witchblade), taking care of Masane in her Witchblade form with several bandages and creams on her wounds. The three of them at the time had taken care of her while she was still in her Witchblade form, but hours later as she was quickly recovering she had reverted to her human form and Hiroki alone was to treat her.

A faint blush came to his long face as he thought about how he treated her wounds with her slightly ripped up tank-top on (the wound was above where the tank-top started on her breasts. A female nurse later replaced her shirt with a shirt exactly like it later when he was out of the room. Another reason to add as to why Hiroki was flushing was in reminiscence of the events only an hour ago. Unconsciously, his hand went to where his heart was and grasped the fabrics of his suit. _"That's the second time I've encountered those melons of hers…or were they cantaloupes?"_ he thought, trying to remember what that photographer-friend of hers nicknamed her. He could almost wince at the memory of her furiously throwing a bookcase and Takayama and him when she found out he was the one to bandage her chest.

Getting up from the bed after a few more seconds of relaxing, he then undressed, and put on some blue pajamas consisting of a pair of blue pants, a white tank-top, and a light-blue jacket top that went over it. On his lean body, the simple attire made it look like he could be a model for pajamas. On his bed stand was a picture of Rihoko, Masane, and himself (kind of) from a few weeks ago when the woman had the idea of taking a picture of herself and Rihoko with his picture-phone. It was had a magnet glued to the back of it on the courtesy of little Rihoko so could 'always think of me (her) when you're (him) eating lunch!", assuming that he would put it on his non-existent refrigerator. Instead, he put it on the metal of his lamp-stand. In order to take the picture, Masane had grabbed the phone with his hand crushed gently between hers and the cellular device, as she pushed his face with her other hand out of the picture so that it would only be Rihoko and her. The end result was that it took a picture of the two girls making goofy faces and poses, but also of Hiroki being pushed out of the picture with his arm straining as he tried to hold on to his phone. He turned off the lamp and fell asleep with the picture in his hand.

_BEEEP! Beeep! Beeep!_ Segawa opened his eyes and turned off his alarm-clock and put back the picture onto his lamp-stand. It was 6:30AM, and he had just an hour more of sleep than he was used to; five hours. He felt sleepier than usual, strangely enough, but he went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He as about to undress to take a shower when from the door some sudden pounding and banging sounded. He quickly ran to the door, slipped on his fancy black robe and opened the door. It was Masane, clad in a spaghetti-strap shirt of brown and yellow and some yellow slacks with duckies on them.

"M-Masane? What is it? Is something wrong?" he asked her, grabbing his dark-blue framed glasses from a desk near the door and slipping them on.

"You have to hurry! Rihoko! She, she fell and she's _bleeding!!!_" screamedMasane, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him. On the way of her dragging him out of his room he grabbed his suitcase that was luckily right next to the door and ran with her to her room. She flung open the door of her room and Masane cried out, "_RIHOKO!_" The girl looked quite fine actually, there was just a stool that seemed to have fallen that she was about to put back up. Rihoko looked up and pouted.

"_Mom_, I told you I was fine! You didn't have to get Mr. Segawa!" she said to her mother. She then looked at Segawa behind her. "Good morning Mr. Segawa." she pleasantly greeted him. He waved at her.

"Good morning Miss Rihoko. Is something wrong?"

"_No_, there _isn't. _I was just setting up the table for breakfast and I fell off the stool I was sitting on and scraped my knee on the ground! That's all!" Rihoko explained to him. Masane gave a deep sigh and walked towards her daughter.

"Well, I'm sorry Riko! I didn't know that! It could've been a lot worse, y'know." Masane said to her as she scratched the back of her head with an apologetic smile on her face. Rihoko reminded her that she had in fact told her that it was just a scratch. Segawa reached into his suitcase of many wonders and pulled out a small First Aid kit.

"At least let me cleanse and bandage your knee, Rihoko." he said to her, showing her the box. She nodded and hopped onto a chair. Rihoko's sleeping-wear was a cute white dress with pink lining and some simple flowers dotted every so often on it. He went over to her, knelt down, and warned her that the cleansing alcohol that he'd soon put on may sting a bit. He dabbed on the liquid with a cotton ball on her scratch, waited a few seconds for it to dry off, and then applied a Hello Kitty bandage, which came with the First Aid kit (as it was meant for children) on her knee. He stood up and smiled at her. "There, all done Miss. Rihoko. Just remember to put on a new one in a few hours, or if you're lucky it will have healed by then." She looked at her bandage and giggled at the Hello Kitties on it. He offered her his hand to help her down, she took it, and jumped down from the tall chair.

"Why thank you, Mr. Segawa!" Rihoko said to him. Masane in the background was smirking and wondering why she hadn't thought of that before running to Segawa. He turned to Masane.

"Mr. Takayama would like for both of you prepared to leave by 1600 hours so that we may have you done up at the boutique and ready to go by 1830 hours to arrive at the ball on time."

She looked at him strangely and was about to say something when he added,

"Be ready to leave by 4:00 so that we can get you and Rihoko to the boutique, and then leave by 6:30 so that we may arrive at the party on time." He adjusted his glasses.

"Oh," Masane said, she waved her hand and closed her eyes, "I knew that." Segawa made no comment about this but suddenly remembered something of importance to the to adults.

"By the way, Masane, you will be Mr. Takayama's date for tonight, so please mind you manners and try not to do anything that might embarrass him." Hiroki said to her, he almost had a hard time saying the first part of his sentence. Masane's jaw dropped as a look of fury overtook her.

"_I'M HIS _WHAT_?!_" she screamed aloud to not particularly him. Segawa reached for the door behind him and bowed to them and said to Rihoko in a soft voice,

"Bye now, Rihoko, have a nice day… I hope your mother has one too."

Rihoko said to him, "Bye Mr. Segawa, I will! Although I can't promise anything for my mom…"; looking at her mother who was still screaming and shouting about her being Reiji's date.

"I take my leave now." he said to her (Rihoko), and closed the door behind him. He walked back to his room, took a shower, put his work-suit, and took the elevator up to Takayama's office. On his way up, he couldn't help but think of the ducks on Masane's cute pants.

* * *

_It was like this once back in high school. There I was in my last year and I thought I was in love with a young woman named Tsurai Musubi. But, we weren't meant to be. She was going out with a nineteen year old who had a scar that stretched from his left cheekbone to the cleft in his chin. Everyone always said how 'cool' he was. I thought that it was the scar that made him cool. Tsurai told me that I was too much of a pretty boy for her when I had the brilliant idea of asking her a few days after she and the guy with the scar broke up. Many girls liked me back then, I've heard, but my heart was set on Musubi, but, I guess she only liked macho-looking guys, huh? How tragic life is. Just a few days ago _she _called me the same thing: a pretty boy. And, as it happens to be, he too has a scar, just like that guy Tsurai had once dated. I begin to wonder once more if these efforts of mine are worth anything. _

* * *

Hours had passed by and it was finally four o'clock PM. Segawa carried a small bag that held the suit he would wear in the evening as well as Takayama's. When they exited the office they found Rihoko waiting with Masane right outside of it. She impatiently asked them what took the two men so long, grabbed hold of her mother's arm, and quickly skipped down the hallway. Not quite willing to face the wrath of a child's anger, Takayama (stoic and grumpy looking as usual) and Segawa power-walked towards the elevator which the two girls were heading for, and managed to slip into the elevator before the door closed.

By the time they got to the boutique, Takayama and Segawa were quite near tired of the endless talk about the party, especially the fantasized stuff such as how the two girls were planning on entering the ballroom with fog rolling by their feet and the two men escorting them down a majestic stairway like princesses (at which Reiji smacked his forehead with his palm and rubbed his temple) where everyone would awe at their beauty and take pictures. It was just a simple congratulatory party for the surprise success of a beneficial deal with only two-hundred some people attending, certainly not a red-carpet type of party that the females were imagining.

The same old lady and young woman attended to Rihoko and the other two women to Masane as they got their hair washed and done, all of which took about forty-five minutes with the styling of hair taking about thirty-five. Meanwhile, Segawa and Takayama were quickly and easily done with prepping up. Upon Reiji was a black tuxedo with the sash looking of an expensive black silk. Segawa wore a tuxedo as well but his sash, vest, and bow-tie were of a navy blue to match his glasses. They were done dressing in about five minutes and then took only a few minutes for some of the beauticians to fix up their hair. They waited patiently for the two young women to be finished, Takayama reading a memo he had received in the morning, and Segawa touching up on something important in his advanced cell-phone.

By 5:50 the stylists were finishing up the make up on Masane and Rihoko. "_Ahem!_" the older lady cleared her throat, the two men looked up to see the silhouettes of the two Amahas behind silk red draw-curtains above the few steps that led to it. "I present to you—.", the curtains slowly drew back. "Ms. Masane!"

A delicate foot stepped from the shadows of the curtain and following it was the form of Masane Amaha. Hiroki could feel his heart fluttering. She looked…amazing. Her brown hair was neatly brushed with the majority of her bangs swept to her right, the remainder being put to the left where it fell next to her left eye. Her hair was put into a simple bun with two locks springing nicely it, the shorter hairs that didn't go into the bun lay nicely against her neck and behind her ears. Masane had on lightly applied eye-shadow of a very light violet, her lips; a deep pink. Draped around her arms was a sash the same ivory color as her dress. As she descended the stairs he could tell that she was trying to walk gracefully in her white shoes with about an inch of heel. He almost wanted her to fall again, with this time Hiroki would be prepared to catch her.

A young lady came up to Masane and put in a false purple-white flower with a clip high on the left side of her head. He looked at her in awe, words could not describe how he felt about her, about how she looked, about the date of his boss. Such a sudden movement in his heart, the sight of her was, that he forgot to smile and compliment her. Masane turned to the side and he could see a diamond-shaped pearl earring hanging to her mid-jaw from her ear. Still gazing at her, he missed what the old lady said.

"Princess Rihoko!" he heard Masane say. Segawa snapped out of his daze to look down and next to Masane to see Rihoko Amaha. Her hair was neatly combed and put in the same way as it usually was except her bangs being neatly parted with a hairclip with a false cherry blossom attached to it that held up part of her bangs to the left side of her head. Some very lightly applied blush enhanced the youthfulness of Rihoko's face as she had on some pink lipstick and just a thin layer of light purple eye shadow. Her eyelashes had been curled as she waltzed down the steps with her white shoes. Her mother held out her hand to her; Rihoko took it and bounded down the last two steps and to Masane's side. Masane put her right hand on her hip in a very un-ladylike way and asked the two men how they looked. Takayama hid his mouth behind the Y between his index finger and thumb. Masane leaned towards him. "Was that a _smile_ I just saw?" she sneered. Reiji's thick eyebrows twitched and he set down his hand.

"You look amazing, both of you do." he said to them in his usual gruff, nonchalant tone. The girls and Segawa looked surprised to hear those words coming from his mouth. He turned to Segawa. "How long will it take us to arrive at the ball?"

Segawa replied to him without any hesitation, "About twenty minutes, so we have twenty-five minutes spare if we want to arrive exactly on time." Rihoko was showing her mother her shoes when she asked,

"Mr. Segawa, what _is _a ball, anyway?" He didn't seem too surprised that she didn't know and so said to her,

"It is like a very formal, or fancy, party where the main event is dancing." She nodded in understanding and asked her mom if they could dance together.

"Of course we can Riko!" she said to her, grabbing her child's hands and swaying back and forth with her childishly.

"That reminds me, Masane," Takayama said, "Do you know how to dance?" Masane ceased swinging around and said,

"Well, sure I do. Doesn't everyone?" He put his hand to his head as if having a headache and sighed.

"I mean waltzing, or even just slow dancing." he said, immediately regretting to have said waltzing, since it had been a very long time since he had last waltzed, or even danced for that matter.

"Uhm…"

"Segawa," Takayama said. His assistant turned to him. "Please instruct Miss Amaha on how to waltz."

"D-Director?" he stammered.

"On your application form from so long ago, one of the many requirements of being an assistant was to be able to dance in some way. I trust you did not lie about that then?" stated Takayama. Segawa pushed up his glasses and exhaled.

"Yes, sir." He stood up and held out his left hand Masane. Takayama ushered to one of the ladies to turn on some three-time music. In a few seconds some slow orchestral music was turned on at a low volume. Rihoko plopped herself down on the cushy sofa next to Takayama, to his awkward discomfort.

The slightest touch of her already made Hiroki melt, but having her in his arms like this was almost too much for him. In his extended left hand, raised to his shoulder height was Masane's gloved hand as his right hand was just below her left shoulder blade with her left hand on his right shoulder. "Try to relax your right arm more and make it not at such an angle and raise your left elbow." Hiroki said to her. She did this. Why did she seem so at ease and yet his heart was racing so? "The waltz is a three-four time dance. It starts with you stepping back with your right foot as I step forward with my left. You then step to the left and bring your right foot next to your left."

With some trouble this was completed. "Is that it?" Masane asked.

"No, it's —." he said, interrupted by her groan. "Next, you step forward with your left foot, step to the right with your right foot, followed by your left." He stepped back as she came forward and sided along with her at the final steps. "Great! You've learned the very basic steps of waltzing Masane! Now, let's trying this again and start _very _slowly moving counter-clockwise." They moved in time to the music, the warmth of her body holding him up, allowing Hiroki ignore the stare of his employer. They danced (slowly) in a wide circle. He let down his hands and bowed to her. "Congratulations, Miss Amaha. I believe you will do beautifully tonight." Masane did a curtsey towards him.

"Why thank you, Mr. Segawa."

"You did great mommy!" Rihoko exclaimed, jumping from the couch. Takayama got up and straightened his bow-tie.

"We're leaving now." he said to them. Masane looked from Rihoko to Reiji.

"But it's only 6:15!"

"Segawa and I need to get some boutonnières." Segawa's brows raised , angry with himself that he had not thought about that earlier.

"A what?" asked the girls.

"It's an accessory to our tuxedos." Segawa told them. Masane and Rihoko looked at each other, shrugged, and followed the two men out to the car.

They made no stops at any flower shops, but, rather, Reiji and Segawa had ordered two by phone. Through a fancy drive-through did they get their boutonnières and from there they drove to the ball. Rihoko took a nap in the car, as it would be a long night. Reiji put on his red rose boutonnière as Segawa set on his white rose one with little difficulty as he drove.

The place was _amazing. _It was like a palace-themed office building with large glass windows ornately decorated on it frames and even on the glass. A pair of large, wooden, and polished double doors awaited them beyond a few steps and a pathway of fine marble. Segawa stopped the car before the steps, got out, and handed a man the keys. He then opened the door to Masane and she got out as Takayama opened the car door for Rihoko who had already awaken from her short nap. The four got out of the car and walked towards the grand doors while the man drove away the car to a private parking lot. Two servers of the party opened the doors for them and they walked in.

Soft elevator-music like orchestral music greeted their ears from the orchestra opposite the room of them on the bottom floor as they walked onto the velvety maroon carpet that covered the second floor (at which they were currently on), A white banister went around the second floor that was more like a very wide hallway with an even larger hallway at the other side of the room. The stairs were wooden with red marble in the center as if like a red carpet, as the bottom floor was composed of waxed and polished wood. It was five minutes until seven o'clock but it seemed that many of the guests had already arrived. Masane and Rihoko looked at each other and squealed in joy, followed by descending the stairs hand-in-hand like princesses. The men walked behind them, it was just another formal celebration to them, nothing quite new. A table had already been reserved for them. Takayama went over to the table to see who's party would be sitting with them.

"Great…" Reiji muttered.

"Is something wrong, Director?" asked Segawa who was just finished with telling Masane and Rihoko (but mostly Masane) to please mind their manners and act like ladies. Takayama turned around and moved out of the way of Segawa's view so that he could see the card of the person and his party they'd be with.

"…oh, dear." was all he could admit to say. Footsteps sounded behind them and Rihoko came by with a plate of a food followed by Masane who carried a plate stacked tall with sweets (Rihoko had food, as in broccoli, rice, chicken, etc.). The woman set down her plate, not really caring that her layered tower-like cakes were swaying about uneasily. She looked at Takayama as he sat down next to her with a sour expression on.

"Why the long face 'sweetie'?" she asked him. He looked at her oddly out of the corner of his silver eyes, until remembering that she was his date.

"The other party that will be sitting with us this evening, even if it's not for long, will be… Masaya Wadou." he told her. Segawa sat next to Rihoko who was on the right of Masane; the right of Takayama.

"_Who_?" she asked. Segawa said to her,

"Wadou is the director of Douji Heavy Industries. He and the Director have long been rivals for—." he stopped when he saw her 'get on with it' expression. "He's the man you met once before in the office. He has black hair greased back. Angry looking, tight-mouthed, snappy…"

"_Ooh_, _that _douche bag!" Masane said. Takayama narrowed his eyebrows, whether that be a good thing or bad, at her choice of words for his rival.

"Mom, what's a doosh bag?" Rihoko asked as she wiped her mouth and put her napkin back on her lap. Segawa put his palm to his forehead.

"Well, Riko, they're kinda like people that are really, _really_ big jerks, and I mean people that are _extreme _jerks and even go beyond being jerks. Nobody likes them, in fact, you almost have to pity them." explained Masane. Takayama and Segawa sighed.

"To be honest, Masane," Segawa commented, "children are often _preferred _not to be at these business parties, but since Rihoko's so well mannered and ladylike, we figured that if she could make the Director look nice as well as make any… negative comments near him unsaid. In other words, Rihoko acts as a 'jerk-repellant' for the Director, as well as anyone else near her." Rihoko beamed and her mother giggled.

"Is this true, you big gorilla? You're nothin' but a softy aren't you?" Masane asked her employer, she softly punched him in the arm. He was about to reply when an old man and a pretty young woman hanging onto his arm were approaching their table. Reiji got up and signaled to Segawa to remain where he was.

"Ah! Dir_ector _Taka_yama_! It's _been _so _long _since we last _met_!" said the old man. Takayama went over to the man, shook his hand, and they conversed over boring things. Rihoko, meanwhile, ushered to her mother and Segawa to come closer to her with her hands.

"I have an idea! The three of us can be… '_The League of Anti-Douchebaggery_!" exclaimed Rihoko in a whisper.

"Um…"

"That's a great idea Rihoko! I'd pay money to see Wadou even trying to be a douche bag in front of you!" said her mother, bear-hugging her. Segawa raised his eyebrows when she said that she'd pay _money_ for such a thing.

"You need to help too, Mr. Segawa!" He smiled at her and closed his eyes.

"I'll try my best, Captain Rihoko." he said to her, giving her a playful salute. Masane grinned at Hiroki, happy that he was playing along, unlike what Takayama would likely to have done.

The bells of the great grandfather clock placed above the grand doors gonged eerily. It was now seven o'clock and a dreaded character burst through the doors, lightning flashing behind him as he and his party folded up their black umbrellas.

Masaya Wadou had finally arrived. The douche bag.

* * *

**Forgive me for the long wait. I thought that by I could I could write and/or upload it by last Wednesday or Saturday, but, you can't write a story of unrequited love without being in love, even one that's not unnrequited, can you? **

**In episode five, Masane did in fact call Hiroki a pretty-boy, in the English dub at least. If any one knows where you can watch an English subtitled verison of Witchblade, please review or PM me or something.**

**Rpgingmaster: I loved your review for chapter two so much and found it so funny, I had to share it here. And sorry to not really quote it directly, but I don't think Masane's smart enough to use the word 'justifying' in a sentence in a non-serious conversation.**

**Reviews are always welcome~**

**[edit] Here are some art I did for Segawa and Rihoko for the outfits they're in in this chapter! **(Don't forget to take out the space between the deviant art and period mark).

**deviantart .com/art/Segawa-Hiroki-129682519**

**deviantart .com/art/Amaha-Rihoko-129682269 **


	4. Secret

_The flower pays no mind to its stem; she cannot see it. One thing we both can see though is the sun. He nourishes us and gives us the strength to live, yet it's different for the flower. With her gaze upon him, she is able to reach towards him with her petals and embrace the sun's gift. All I can do is support the flower. My leaves dry in his cold glances, although the flower does not notice. _

_I thought that by getting close to her daughter, she would notice me as more than just her advisor… and she has. Now, she sees me as her daughter's friend, a reliable man whom she can trust with the pride of her life. Perhaps it's better like this. As long as she's happy or at least content, that's all that matters, right? I thought that after closing my heart off from the world for so long to avoid getting hurt, and hurting others, my heart would be fresh and pure enough to hold this feeling again. I see now that it's nothing but withered; shrinking away from the light as it emerges from darkness. I wonder, if I had the ability to, would I close my heart off from the world, from her, and push away these feelings in order to be free of this pain? _

* * *

The grand doors thundered shut and several servers came up to the party to take their umbrellas and wet coats. A slight hint of irritation was present in Wadou's small black eyes as he smoothed back his short, black, greasy hair with his hand. Droplets of water fell from them and onto the maroon carpet. Segawa leaned forward to the two girls. "That is Wadou." he whispered to them. They nodded in understanding and watched as he walked down the steps. Masaya Wadou wore a black tuxedo with the dress shirt being white and a pink bowtie. His tubby assistant Yagi, wearing a typical tuxedo followed him down the stairs, the ever-present look of worry and fear was in his eyes as he occasionally glanced at his boss and then back to the floor. A very pretty and petite woman followed him. She had long black hair that fell to her waist in slight waves and light-brown eyes. She wore a simple gown of turquoise that fell to the tops of her blue-heeled feet.

As the scowling man descended the stair he spotted Takayama chatting with a man that worked for him (Wadou). He scowled some more and stormed down the stairs in a discreet manner and greet the man, "Hello, Takayama, Mr. Hara, good evening." The old man smiled at him.

"Good evening Director Wadou." he greeted him. They heard the vibration of a phone, the old man answered his phone and a frown came to his face. He excused himself from the group and walked away with his date following after him.

Back at Takayama and Wadou's table; Segawa sighed and muttered, "Oh, dear." He got up from his chair, pushed it back in, and said to the girls, "Excuse me, I need to attend to Takayama in case something nasty happens." He turned around to walk away when Rihoko grabbed his sleeve.

"Hey! Let me go with you! This is our first mission as the LADB!" she exclaimed. Masane chuckled behind her gloved hand. "You too, mom! Your melons will make him stop dead in his tracks!" she said to Masane who looked at her in a surprised and embarrassed way. Segawa pushed up his glasses and offered his hand to Masane who pushed out her seat to get up.

"Right. Well, then, shall we go?" he said to them. She took his hand, at which a warm feeling spread from his hand, and he pulled her up. The three proceeded to Takayama's unasked-for aid with Segawa leading them.

"So, Takayama," Wadou said in his always sneering and/or mean voice, "I understand that the Special Division had quite the trouble in helping make that deal with Kwok Industries. Douji Heavy Industries, however, had no problem at all in making what they required of us." Takayama closed his eyes and then looked passionlessly at the man.

"Actually, our only complications were the requirements that your sector dumped on us because you couldn't deal with them." He stared into Wadou's cold eyes. The scrawny man bit his lips and glared at Takayama. He wasn't aware of this, as he had been in all honesty on a not-much-needed vacation during most of the time that the deal was in progress. "I thought that you were informed of that, Wadou."

"Why you—!" Wadou growled until he was interrupted by a had of black hair bobbing up next to him. He looked down with his beady black eyes to see the most adorable little girl that he had ever seen (not that he has seen that many children before). Takayama's assistant Segawa was walking towards them as well with a beautiful and voluptuous woman next to him. Segawa and Yagi gave a small bow to each other. As the woman came closer it was as if Wadou's bowtie had suddenly gotten tighter. He gasped. "S-Segawa, who is this beautiful woman with you? Surely not your wife and this adorable child your daughter?" Wadou asked Segawa (since it was with Segawa that Masane and Rihoko walked over there). Segawa raised his hands and waved them from side to side.

"This woman is Masane Amaha, Mr. Takayama's date. And this girl is Rihoko Amaha, a niece of Ms. Amaha's whom she is caring for a few weeks." Segawa explained to them. Wadou seemed to still be shaken by Masane's appearance, not as much by Rihoko's cuteness though. The man attempted smiling at Takayama who looked at him as dourly as ever. Rihoko spoke up.

"Mr. Wadou, you're sitting with us!" His thin eyebrows twitched slightly and as he fixed his bowtie he said with a slight grimace,

"Is that so…" In a small movement, Wadou discreetly scratched his leg (although the ever-observant Segawa saw this) and Yagi came up next to him with a cell-phone in his hand.

"A phone-call for you, Director." Yagi said to him. The phone was off, actually, which meant that due to Yagi's negligence in attending to this detail he would later be punished in some way. Segawa had to pity the poor man.

Masaya Wadou turned and took the phone from him. "Thank you, Yagi." he said. "Please excuse me, this is an urgent call." he told Takayama and his group. He then walked away with his phone to his ear, talking to no one. Yagi and Wadou's date reluctantly followed him. Segawa and Takayama chuckled and smirked. Rihoko looked up to Segawa and asked him,

"I don't get it, why are you laughing?"

"That 'phone-call' was a fake. Wadou signaled to his assistant by scratching his leg to pretend that there was a call for him and give him the phone, to give Wadou an excuse to run away." The girls laughed and Masane called him (Wadou) a coward. The lights were dimming, signaling that an important speech would start soon. Masane and Rihoko hit the buffet bar once more and returned to the table with Segawa and Takayama. Next to Segawa was Yagi who was next to Wadou. Between Reiji and Wadou was Wadou's date whose name Masane found out to be was Saki. She was a sweet, reticent, and animal-loving girl (as Rihoko discovered when showing Saki her wallet of photos with a picture of Punta, the large and wrinkly brown dog of the man who sailed Rihoko and Masane to Tokyo). She was the daughter of Douji Heavy Industries'

The table was very quite in comparison to the other occupied tables of the lightly chattering people. Wadou kept glancing out the corners of his eyes at Takayama who was quietly eating his food. The lights dimmed some more and an applause grew as a spotlight was fixed upon a middle-aged man. He thanked the audience for coming and he proceeded with speech that really only the Douji employees were listening to. Rihoko meanwhile was forming smiley-faces with chocolate-shaving on some small cupcakes that she had helped the kitchen crew make via a recipe she made that the head chef asked for from Takayama when they were at a luncheon at Takayama's office, snacking on some extra cupcakes that Rihoko had brought in. There happened to be seven cupcakes on the plate and so when she was done she gave one to each person at the table. Yagi thanked her with a warm smile, which he cautiously made after looking at Wadou first. The speech ended some short time later and everyone clapped as he walked off the small erected stage. Everyone bit out of Rihoko's cupcakes and were overtaken in their deliciousness. Masane was overjoyed by her daughter's food as usual. Segawa took a bite out of his and smiled at her pleasantly.

"Why, Miss Rihoko, your cupcakes are amazing! Thank you!" he said to her. Wadou's expression was unbelievable to the adults that knew him. His eyes were on the verge of watering.

"These-- these cupcakes are…_exquisite_! Never have I tasted anything like them!" he exclaimed in a gasp, he inhaled the rest of the cupcake. Even Reiji seemed taken back by them again, although his reaction wasn't as interesting as Wadou's.

The orchestra began playing some mid-tempo three-time music. Masane swayed from side-to-side in her chair in time with the music. She leaned towards Takayama and hooked her left arm through his right.

"Reiji, let's go dance!" she said to him, pulling on his arm, gently.

"What?" he asked her, looking at her strangely without completely becoming decomposed.

"I'm you're date, right?" Masane whispered to him in a leering fashion, "so let's go dance and make it seem like I'm one, got it?" He put on a slight grin and looked at her in the eyes. He un-hooked his arm from her, pushed out his chair and got up. He pushed back in the chair and offered his hand to Masane who could almost blush at how nice and gentlemanly he was being towards her. She took his hand and he pulled her up from her seat, pushed in her chair, and the two walked away without a word to the table and to the dance floor with her gloved hand on his arm.

Hiroki gazed at them as they walked away for only a few seconds (whereas everyone else continued staring at the couple until they started dancing), and returned to his glass of wine that a server had just filled. She looked happy, truly.

Upon hearing his employer start grumbling to himself and growling, Yagi straightened his posture and slowly turned his head towards the ever-scowling douche bag Wadou. The man was glaring at Takayama's form as he waltzed a simple routine with Ms. Amaha. He turned around to face Saki and smiled. The smile was scaring her a bit.

"Let's dance, shall we, Saki?" he said to her. He grabbed her petite hand and walked furiously onto the dance floor with Saki stumbling behind. Rihoko turned around in her seat and rested her chin and elbows on the back of it to watch.

"I've never seen anyone dance so angrily before!" she exclaimed. Yagi and Segawa chuckled. Her friend commented,

"Yes, I must agree. And it seems that Wadou's presence has gotten to Takayama." He said this because moments after Wadou and Saki stepped onto the wooden floor, Takayama began doing some spins and other advanced waltzing things with Masane, who didn't really know what to do much of the time. Thanks to his big build and strength, though, she was able to be lead by him; his arms and hands moving and twisting her body this way and that. Wadou too was trying out some fancy moves, but it seemed that Saki was the better dancer of the two.

Things were getting heated up on the floor, as even the other dancers were noticing the growing tension between Takayama and Wadou. Once or twice, Masane looked over Takayama's shoulders or to the side to look at Rihoko and begged with her eyes for them to do something. Rihoko turned to her right and said to Segawa,

"Mr. Segawa, would you like to dance?" He looked at her in surprise.

"Are you sure you want to dance with me? I'm much taller than you so it may be difficult."

"That doesn't matter! And, besides, maybe we can get Mr. Wadou and Mr. Takayama to be nicer if we're there!" explained the girl. Segawa smiled, exhaled, and said to her,

"I would be honored to dance with you, Miss Rihoko." He got up and bowed to Rihoko and extended his hand to her. She giggled and took it. She practically skipped to the dance floor with Segawa following behind after he gave a short bow to lonely Yagi.

Masane seemed very happy to see her daughter on the floor and Saki thought it was cute, whereas the men were just surprised. Because of their great differences in height, Segawa merely bent down a bit with Rihoko's hands in his, and they playfully waltzed, as in putting in random twirls and sways. Once, when Reiji and Masane were dancing near the two, Masane let go her hand of Takayama's and patted Rihoko on the head, and then Segawa on the back roughly. In another number when Segawa looked over to their table, he saw Yagi speaking with a young woman. She had on a dark-blue dress and short brown cropped hair. She was kind of short and slightly stocky, like Yagi, and she was the manager of one of Douji's sectors.

The tension between the two rivals seemed to have faded, or at least back to the usual amount of tension by the time the third number ended. Segawa gave a bow to Rihoko. "Thank you for the dance, Miss Rihoko." he said to her. She curtseyed.

"You're quite welcome Mr. Segawa!" she said in a giggle. Her mother came up from behind her and bear-hugged her.

"Hey, Riko! I didn't know you could dance so well! Great job!" exclaimed her mother. She looked into Segawa's light-brown eyes. "Thank you, Segawa, for letting Riko drag you into that."

Flattered that she would think of him, waved his hand at the thought and smiled. "It was no problem, really." They all went back to the table and to their great surprise they found Yagi missing in action. Wadou turned to the side and glared at his assistant who was walking away with the young woman he had been speaking with earlier, and towards the ball floor. The orchestra was now playing an mid-tempo song alike to a quick-step or swing. Masane was downing another glass of wine since she was a bit exhausted from being dragged and pulled in the strangest ways (to her at least) while dancing with Reiji. The servers only catered water, wine, and some cocktails, but she felt that neither water nor cocktails would go with the cake she was eating…had eaten.

Wadou and Takayama too were drinking some shots of light alcohol, glaring at each other as they quickly finished off one glass to the next. A few glasses later, Masaya was getting a bit goofy from the alcohol. It seemed that after all those years in college from drinking hardcore, he had withered down to the type of middle-aged man who couldn't even handle low-content alcoholic beverages. Masane got up from her chair and stretched her arms and then walked over to between Segawa and Rihoko. He didn't have very high hopes that she was there to speak with him, only with her daughter.

"Hey, Segawa." Masane said to him. Hiroki looked up, he fought back a blush that was moving into his cheeks. Their brown eyes locked.

"Yes, Masane?"

"Do you want to dance with me?" she asked him. She must've been drunk. That's what his brain kept trying to tell his quivering heart. It was hard to tell if the blush on her cheeks was her makeup or the wine.

"Me?" he said, not really directed at her. He wondered if Takayama heard what she had said. He was afraid to look over in his direction. Instead, he looked down and away from all of them. "Oh, no, I couldn't—."

"Aw, c'mon! Even Yagi's got a date to dance with!" Masane said to him. She had her hand on the back of his chair as she was leaning slightly towards him. He was about to reaffirm his answer when he hesitated for a short while. He looked back up to her and into her eyes. Using the courage he had somehow found, he rested his left hand on top of hers on the chair.

"I would love to dance with you, Masane."

She smiled and gave a wide grin of victory. She may have had a few glasses, but Masane had not consumed nearly enough wine to have it affect her judgment or character. Using her other hand, she grabbed the hand he had on top of her right and she pulled him up from his chair, which Rihoko pushed in, and started walking towards the floor. "Let's go!" she said in a sing-song voice. Hiroki was tired of pretending to be embarrassed, tired of pretending to be slightly annoyed with the young woman just for his boss, and so he finally smiled and laughed. They approached the floor, the soft and slow music of the orchestra as in the tempo of a waltz. He stepped to before her and bowed, she gave a small curtsey with a smirk, thinking he was such an uptight pretty-boy. She set her hand on his right shoulder near his neck and he set his right hand just below her left shoulder-blade. Hiroki gently took up her hand and stepped forward.

All the world meant nothing to him. Nothing but her mattered in his mind. The steps his feet took; he could hardly feel as they glided slowly on the floor. Traditionally, the man and woman were meant to keep a fair distance from one another's bodies, and not look at the other, but at one point they became physically closer. Hiroki wasn't sure if it was him that had pulled her closer or her, but now the space between the faces was naught more than four or five inches. Her perfume was light but he could smell a sweet flower, and she was more than just beautiful up close. He didn't dance as Reiji had with Masane. Rather, he did very simple moves, never once letting go of her gloved hand. The warmth of her body in his hands and so close to his own, the scent of her hair and body filled him with a feeling he had thought had withered away in the heart he had thought to be dried up. Unconsciously, his hand had slipped to just above her waist and his left arm had relaxed a bit. He looked to her face and found, to his surprise, her brown eyes gazing back at him.

"What is it?" asked Masane. She was so close to him, his heart beat faster, he was worried she would feel or hear it. But, for some reason, he felt so calm. He ignored his heart.

He gave a pleasant smile and replied, "Nothing." She looked away, rolling her eyes in a sarcastic way and smiled. The song was coming to an end. She was still looking over his shoulder, just as she was meant to, although Hiroki was still gazing at her. As they continued to waltz he brought his face closer to her, although Masane failed to notice. Now, he could feel his heart beating harder, his breathe coming short. How close they were dancing together now was hardly appropriate for a waltz of any kind. He opened his lips slightly in a barely visible way as he brought his head closer to her. The warmth of her, and the feelings that were surging throughout his body and heart were truly enveloping his being.

The song ended and Masane's hand left his shoulder, he let her right hand slip from his left. "Thank you for the dance, Segawa, you're certainly better at handling women nicely than Reiji." she said to him. He smiled at that.

"Why, thank you, Masane. It was a pleasure to dance with you." The dance floor was getting less crowded now that it was nearing nine, most of the guests were just sitting down and having a drink with their friends and colleagues or walking around and taking a tour of the grand place, looking at the sculptures and other pieces of art around the building. As he walked back, Rihoko ran by him. He turned his face slightly to see Masane bend down and embrace/catch the girl. He adjusted his glasses and sat down in his seat, two chairs from Takayama and two chairs from Wadou. How wonderful. It seemed that in the several minutes that he had been gone Wadou had now become a very cranky middle-aged man after many drinks, with Takayama developing a slight headache. Saki was talking with some gentleman a few yards away at another table, enjoying herself. Segawa reached for his wine and took a sip when Takayama suddenly spoke in a drunk voice.

"So, how was dancing with Masane? She's something isn't she?" he said with a strange smirk on his face. Wadou's face was resting on the table now.

"It was fine, sir. I'm quite impressed at how well she can dance for a beginner." Segawa told him. His smile was beginning to fade. He was no fool; something was up with Takayama, regardless that he was near-drunk.

"Yeah…for a primate she's a decent dancer," he commented, relaxing in his chair and tilting his head back and slightly away from Segawa, "But, hey, I like primates!" The younger man tried to show no concern on his face at these words. When he looked back to where Rihoko and Masane had hugged, he found them to be dancing together. A little further away from them was Yagi and the young woman slowly dancing, both dancing averagely although nicely.

"_I don't think she's a primate at all…" _he thought. Around 9:30 they were setting out to leave. Wadou and recovered somewhat from his drunken stupor although he wobbled and leaned on Saki the whole time while walking up the stair and to his car. Takayama was well enough to walk himself, although Masane had her hand at his back just in case with Rihoko holding her other hand. A man brought up the car, gave the keys to Segawa, and walked away. It was now 9:40 PM, the sun had set with twilight setting in. He had to admire the colorful sky before closing the car door and driving away. Reiji sat in the passenger seat next to him and the two girls sat in the back with Masane falling half-asleep over Rihoko. It was a quiet drive back with only a few interruptions of the silence by Takayama answering his phone. They finally arrived at Douji Industries.

Segawa parked the car in the special and fancy parking lot reserved only for the higher-ups of Douji and stepped out. Takayama exited the car as well, a terribly headache still swirling in his mind. Rihoko got out of her side of the door and Segawa opened Masane's, only to find her dead asleep. Rihoko muttered something and went back inside the car as Segawa was about to wake her. "Don't bother," the girl explained to him "She's gonna be out of it for a _long _time." It seemed that Masane had had more than enough to drink before leaving the party. Rihoko started to push her mom out the car with Segawa trying the best he could to help her. Takayama dragged himself the short distance from his door to where Rihoko had first exited and shut the door in a tired fashion.

"Segawa, I'll be retiring to my room now. Can you handle Rihoko and her?" Takayama asked him. His headache must have been really bothering him, based on how he was staggering about and clutching his left temple with his palm. Segawa draped Masane's arm over his shoulders and he supported her.

"I'm more worried about you, sir." he replied with a short laugh. Reiji waved his hand.

"Eh, I'll be fine. Good night." With that said, Takayama entered the building and his form disappeared beyond the automatic doors. Rihoko locked the doors of the car for him and so the three/two made their way to the Amahas' room. Rihoko pushed the elevator button and the doors slid aside to reveal the elevator to be a bit larger than most and rounded. It was of glass and jutted partly outside of the building, so they could see the night as they ascended into the sky. Without Takayama there, Hiroki had no fear of being caught looking at the woman, or worrying about holding her too closely.

"It's so pretty at night!" commented Rihoko after she pressed their floor number. She stood facing the glass, gazing at the night sky. Not many stars were visible, but the city lights illuminated the ground like stars. The moon was yellow that night and it cast golden light upon their figures. The top of Masane's head reached his cheekbones, the moonlight looked lovely on her at peace face. The doors opened at the twenty-third floor and Segawa slowly moved out of the elevator with Masane's arm still over his shoulders and his hand curved around her waist. It was beginning to get tiresome to drag her around, even as the Amaha's room was just down the hallway.

"Rihoko, do you mind if I carry your mother?" Segawa asked the girl. She twirled around, with a look of surprise on her face.

"Of course not! You're holding up my mom, something I'd have trouble doing all by my self, so you can carry however you want to!" Rihoko said. He gave her a thankful smile. Segawa then slipped himself from her arm and carried her in his arms.

Regardless of how he appeared, Hiroki was no weakling. He was perfectly capable of being bodyguard, handling weapons, and making a good fight with average humans. So, it was without too much difficulty that he held her and followed after Rihoko to room eleven. Hiroki looked down and to Masane's face. He held her closer to his body. Rihoko approached the door and began to shuffle around in her small purse. After a while a worried expression took to her face.

"Is something the matter?" Segawa asked. She bit her lips and looked down,

"Mom had the card-key to our room, but we left her purse in the car…" Segawa raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, Rihoko, I have a master card in the right pocket of my jacket, if you could just get it…" said the man. She brightened up and went up to him, reached into this pocket, and pulled out a card identical to the one she had.

"Thank you Mr. Segawa!" she exclaimed. She skipped to the door, slid the card through the slot, and a _click _was heard.

"You're welcome."

She opened the door and held it open for him.

"Thank you, Miss Rihoko." he said to her as he walked in. She nodded and said 'you're welcome' and closed the door behind her. The room looked much as it had earlier in the day except the dishes from breakfast were now gone.

"You can put her on a bed." Rihoko said to him, pointing to the bedroom area.

He thanked her and walked over to the closest bed. He heard Rihoko walk to the bathroom. It was just like his, except the sheets were a bit more rumpled. He laid her down gently, he hovered over her for a short while and then removed her hairpiece and the clips that held up her hair as well as her gloves. He put them on the dresser next to the bed and turned on the lamp. The light illuminated the room, giving off the same warm glow that his lamp did to his room. On their dresser was a picture of Masane and Rihoko, hugging and smiling grandly, looking straight into the camera. He brushed his fingers against the frame and then took off Masane's shoes, putting them under the bed. Masane turned in the bed to face him, still asleep. Hiroki gave a small smile, got on his knees, and brushed back her bangs which had fallen over her face. She mumbled something and then put her hand over his which was on the bed. He flipped over his hand to hold hers. Hiroki could feel his heart race at that slightest touch. There was a smile on Masane's face.

His sight was beginning to get blurry and so he removed his glasses with his other hand. Hiroki was surprised to find his eyes brimming with tears. He set down the glasses and softly clasped his hand over hers after wiping away the potential tears. Her hands were so soft and warm. Hiroki leaned his head down, towards hers, until their foreheads almost touched. A slight blush was apparent on his cheeks. The warmth of her face; he could feel it radiating from her. The scent of her hair and skin; he could smell from the short distance between his face and hers. He heard her mumble something like, 'You're so cute…" Tears were strangely forming in his light-brown eyes once more.

"Masane…" he whispered. All this time, he wondered if she had ever noticed him as more than just a…friend. "Masane, I…love —.'

"_Reiji…_" she mumbled. He felt warm liquid streak down his cheeks and drip onto his hand.

"…you…" he finished in a soft breath. The tears wouldn't stop coming. Hiroki didn't know why he was so shocked, after all, he had known for the longest time about Masane's feelings for his employer, and Takayama's for Masane. Why was he crying then? _"Why did I even hope? How could I have ever hoped that she felt the same towards me? I've been lying to myself all this time that it wasn't true…but, now? What do I do now? Masane, I… I've cared for you for so long. And I'm kinder to you than he is…I should have known that deluding myself would only bring pain and broken hopes." _Not as many tears fell from Hiroki's eyes but within the next few moments a tissue was held out to him by a small hand. He had forgotten about her. Rihoko held out the soft white tissue to him with a comforting smile on her face. He took it from her and thanked her with a sad smile and a nod. Embarrassed to be seen in such a state before a child, most of all _her _child, he looked away as he dabbed away the wetness on his face.

The next thing he knew he was sitting at the kitchen table with Rihoko drinking some tea (that was quite delicious). It was a some somewhat awkward and silent minute or so that passed by until it was broken by the both of them.

Hiroki said, "Please, I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone about—."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise." said Rihoko in a serious manner.

"Thank you." He finished his tea. He checked his watch, it was about 10:35. "I should be going. —!" A small body had embraced him. Rihoko's arms were around his neck with her head near the side of his face.

"_I promise!_" Rihoko confirmed in a muffled cry. Another surprise came to Hiroki that evening in the form of a tear; a tear of gratitude. He put an arm around her.

They let down their arms and things went more or less back to normal. Segawa put on his glasses and walked to the door after telling Rihoko that he'd get her mother's purse from the car and he'd give it to her the next day. "Good night, Mr. Segawa." Rihoko said to him as he opened the door. "Good night, Rihoko," he said to her, "I hope your mother feels better tomorrow."

He bowed his head to her and closed the door behind him.

* * *

**I'm thinking about this being the last chapter, what do you readers think? This story cannot end happily, and it would be difficult to follow the storyline of the anime up until Masane's fate as the Witchblade bearer.**

**I realize that Rihoko said that she liked Takayama in episode eleven (after the party in episode ten where Wadou and he had a drinking contest) and wanted her mother to marry him, but I just felt like making her like Segawa, or at least view him as a friend rather than a chauffeur. Reviews are always welcome.**


	5. Decline: Part I

__

Our relationship grew like the seasons. In the Winter we first met and, after a rocky start, our blossoms began to bloom as Spring came around. Beautiful they were. The thought of Fall faded from my mind and disappeared in the glory of the flowers that bloomed as we grew closer. The fear of Fall was always hovering over us, although she couldn't feel it. One day, I found myself drifting away from the branch that kept us together. Denial of reality; I reach out, but with doubt in my heart, I did not grasp. Short-lived in beauty, the petals of our flowers drift apart from the slightest touch of the wind. Our love, too, drifting apart. Descending slowly through the air, I watch as I fall the graceful movements of the petals that held our memories descend with me. The ground embraces me. Memories amounting to nothing.

* * *

**Decline: Part I**

I slipped the room key-card through their mail-slot with a note attached. It read:

'_Good morning Rihoko,_

_Here is you room card. Please give the master card to your mom and tell her to give it to me when she arrives at work. I'll give her her purse when she gets there as well._

_Have a nice day,_

_Hiroki Segawa'_

I had addressed it to Rihoko since I assumed that it was she that woke up first, not Masane. I arrived in Takayama's office at the usual time, 7:00 AM, and began to work on his schedule for the day as well as some other documents and files. The sound of the door opening to my side; it was a sound I heard near everyday, and it could only be one person at this hour. "Good morning, Director." I greeted him. He mumbled something like a 'morning'. "Have you recovered from last night?" I asked him as I gave him a cup of fresh coffee. He thanked me and said that he was fine. He then asked what his schedule would be like in the next couple of hours. I handed him a few files and told him. Silence followed after this and we both began working on our things. The only sounds we could hear came from the dim grumble of traffic on the streets, the soft clatter of keyboard keys, and occasionally my footsteps and the pouring of liquid as I refilled our coffees every so often. It was around 9:30 that he had become more sober. I could tell because his typing had quickened.

"What time is Masane supposed to get here?" he said to me, he was probably checking his watch. "And why is her purse with you?" I had forgotten that it was on the table next to my laptop and other items. I replied to him without taking my eyes of the file I held,

"Last night I escorted the Amahas to their room and I had to carry Masane because she was drunk. By accident we had left her purse in the car." I checked my watch as well. "Actually, she should be arriving right about now."

As if waiting for a queue, Masane entered the room looking very tired. "Morning…" she said to us. She set the thermos she was holding on the table before me and plopped down in her usual seat on the sofa across from me. My urge to look at her had diminished.

"Good morning, Masane." I greeted her. I pushed her purse towards her. "Here is your purse which I retrieved from the car this morning. You left it in their last night after you passed out." Half-awake, she reached for it when her eyebrows went up in realization. I saw her reach into the inside of her jacket; she pulled out the master card.

"Oh, here ya go," Masane said, she handed it to me. I was surprised by how warm her skin was when our fingers touched as I took the card from her. Perhaps I was thinking that they would suddenly feel cold after what had happened . "Thanks, by the way, for getting Riko and me into our room, or else we'd have slept outside." she said to me. I think that either my heart was fighting against its lock, or the lock was trying to restrain my heart.

"It was no problem. And I would have arranged for you two to stay in one of the other suites before letting you sleep outside." I told her. She took a drink out of her thermos. It didn't smell delicious but not quite revolting. Takayama asked her what was in that, I suppose that he too could smell it. Masane replied to him that it was Rihoko's cure for a hangover. I looked over to him and saw that he was struggling to say something. Masane smirked and threw the thermos at him, which he caught easily. Knowing Masane, I figured that she would eat anything her daughter made for her, although the same may or may not be said for others, so I was slightly surprised when the Director said that the concoction actually helped him. They exchanged more words. My part in her life that had come to a close.

A few days have passed since that night. She's been captured by the NswF. I remember struggling to remain calm when I got news of this. However, this struggle made me try to laugh it off by commenting as Takayama and I were waiting for the elevator to come by, "I hope Masane's alright. I mean, what if they try to cut off her arm just to get at the Witchblade?" He didn't seem to be amused and said something that lost my interest.

A day after her kidnapping, I was sent in the evening to infiltrate the NswF's headquarters. I was made to wear a military uniform for the later operation so I stopped by the military sector of Douji to grab a uniform. I suited up in it there and upon exiting the locker room a young woman who was working behind a desk there said I looked 'so cute'. Cute. Not handsome, or strong, or dashing? I said to her, "Cute?…Ha, thank you." She replied,

"Yeah! You are like so adorable in that uniform!" I thanked her and walked away, awkwardly. I guess I don't possess the traits of a strong, muscular man like Takayama.

When I entered the basement of the headquarters where the garbage chutes ended, a flashlight rolled by my feet. I turned it off and walked towards a couple of garbage bags where I had heard some rustling just moments before. Upon flicking it on I spotted a very familiar man. He was that photographer that Masane hung out with. He seemed as surprised as myself to see each other. He referred to me as 'that Douji guy'. How coincidental I thought it was that I would meet another person sneaking around the NswF in hopes of rescuing the woman we cared for so. I started pushing him towards the garbage chute where we would climb up it to reach outside the ground floors, assuring him that getting in was the easy part when he asked me, "What the hell? Then what am I supposed to do if I can't get out?"

"Not a problem," I told him, "You'll have Masane with you." I wondered, if I was given the choice, if I would switch roles with the man.

He turned around and yelled at me, "You dumb ass! How is she supposed to help me when she's wounded?!"

"You'll be fine, I'm sure." I then added with a smile, "I'll teach you the magic words that will get her back on her feet in no time!"

He looked at me in a curious way. "Magic words?" He eventually lead the way, to my gratitude, up the chute, in which he was hit with the oncoming garbage bags (although few). As I had suspected, we came up to the area of land that surrounded the building, consisting of some patches of grass and rocks. The ocean glistened with the distorted reflections of city lights. I had to wonder if those magic words I told him would really work. I told him to say something like 'Douji will pay you ten million yen'.

About a half an hour passed. I was waiting by near the shore, awaiting the battleships that would be coming soon, armed to the brim with soldiers, guns of all sorts, and I-weapons. I really was starting to worry about Masane, and that man, but I couldn't express that sort of feeling at the time since I was surrounded by soldiers and a few I-weapons. Even though Takayama was back at his office on the mainland of Tokyo I couldn't afford for my heart to betray my mind.

We were stationed before the tower-like building where the medical lab and Tatsuoki Furumizu's office resided. Furumizu's office being at the top of the tower where the walls were of glass windows and the medical lab occupying the rest of the tower, more or less. A large building surrounded the tower in the shape of two-thirds of a circle (us being stationed before the opening) with ample space between it and the tower. It had been about half an hour since then and an explosion to a far before us caught our attention. Once the dust cleared away I saw two figures emerge from the hole. Using my binoculars I saw that it was the photographer and Masane, who wore naught but a towel and the Witchblade armor covering her arm.

I whispered into my phone for all units to be ready. The ten tanks to my left and right silently prepped their weapons and the two tanker ships behind me aimed their head beams. Several Sisters dressed in their low-rank uniforms surrounded Masane and the man. With the raising of my arm, I signaled to the ships to flash on their beam-lights. Two lights were aimed at the two and four were aimed at the office of Furumizu, at which he and a Sister were standing in. My turn to play hero.

"That's enough! Hold your attack!" I yelled into the megaphone in my hand at the Sisters, "Any sudden movement and we will open fire. You will release Masane immediately or Mr. Furumizu will be blown to pieces." At this, I had to smirk as I saw the face of Furumizu scowl from the screen on the hatch of one of the tanks that was opened up. Moments later I received a call from Takayama that the units could be dismisses. I complied.

Minutes later as the ships were sailing away and into the distance, I walked to where the man and Masane were. She even liked him more than me. Some as impolite and curt and nosy and …real as him. After years of wearing a mask, I don't know how to be very real with people now. Not without difficulty at least. My duty is to serve the directors of Douji Industries. It goes without saying then that there is no time to make friends. Only business associates and good connections. I approached the man to the side, although my eyes followed her. The Witchblade had reverted back to normal and she was kneeling with support from the man. I approached him from the side although my eyes only followed her. She mumbled with gasps between every few words, "Ten million…ten million…doing for—for Riko." I smiled.

"Hey," the man said to her, still not noticing me, "It's all good." I put my hand on his shoulder and said to him,

"So, those magic words; Told you they'd work." I was smiling at him, but he seemed disconcerted still and sighed, focusing on Masane once more. It made me concerned though… just _how _did Wadou know about her kidnapping?

* * *

As if not enough pain had been caused to Masane, she found out the next day that Rihoko was not, in fact, her biological daughter. Takayama too was surprised about this. I was looking into this matter before telling him; out of my own curiosity/concern, and since he would more than likely inquire if I knew anything. I found out a few hours later and relayed it to Takayama. I told him who Rihoko's mother was. He seemed surprised.

"Are you certain?" he asked, "Reina is her biological mother?"

"Yes, shocking, isn't it?" I commented. He looked away and put his knuckles to his chin. Continuing, "Who would've thought that the reason she vanished six years ago was because she was with child? I don't have any data on the father yet, but I do wonder why she went into seclusion to give birth."

He got up from the couch and walked over to his desk, saying to me that Reina had always shown an interest in her being a Neogene, and that almost everything about her was the subject of research to her. He said that she had always wanted to do things on her own. We then slipped into a short conversation concerning Reina's incompatibility with the Witchblade. This information was received by Masane, although I wasn't the one she told of this, it was one of the doctors or nurses tending to her after we retrieved her from the NswF.

It was his turn to shock me when he told me that he could be the biological father.

By the late afternoon Reina Sohou had taken custody of Rihoko. Since Masane wasn't picking up any of Takayama's calls, or my one call, I could only guess at the grief and misery she was going through.

The next day, Takayama actually took the day off to spend it with Masane, leaving me to do all of his work. I have to envy him. Besides, if it was me going over to comfort her and spend the day with her, it would be awkward. My feelings towards her are not mutual. She likes me no more than an acquaintance… or her boss' assistant.

I've always imagined how hard it must be to be a director of Douji, let alone the special division, but now I was the one Wadou was glaring at out of the corner of those beady eyes of his, and going to meetings, and having people talk to me like I was a somebody after the meetings. How pathetic I must be if the only way I can get the young female employees to talk to me is if I'm a director, even if only for a day.

Speaking of meetings, I snuck into a private meeting of Wadou's to find him giving a presentation on his new project: the Witchblade Project, along with an overly-flashy slide-show. He criticized the special division for wasting much time and money on the Witchblade, proposing for the Witchblade to be mass-produced. After the meeting, I called Takayama and asked him to come back to the office to handle things after telling him about Wadou's plans. He blew me off and declined, more or less telling me that I was worrying to much and that Wadou knew nothing and was going to fail. He hung up on me. I worried all day over what they were doing together. To what extent was my part in her life fading away because of their bonds?

* * *

The next day Masane came by in the late morning to pick up her check. She wore a white bra under her usual yellow sweater. I found out minutes later that it was her swimsuit top. She thanked me as I handed her the check and she offered to buy us some souvenirs as she counted the money. It was kind of her to say 'you guys' instead of just 'Reiji' when she offered. Takayama declined for the both of us. She stood up to go when he stopped her, saying that we/they needed to talk. I stood up and walked to behind the couch, letting Takayama take my seat. We should get another couch so as to not let that happen as much.

He reminded her of how the Cloneblades had perished due to the deterioration of the hosts' bodies as they were put under the burden and strain of the immense powers of their blades. In the end their bodies are consumed by their Cloneblades and they perish. "Our only conclusion is that's what happens to bearers of the genuine Witchblade as well."

"…You mean,…so I'll end up like them?" Masane said. I'm sure she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Takayama replied, "Especially if you continue to use it as you have been. You need to start avoiding any unnecessary fights. I realize you're trying to earn money for your daughter's sake- but don't forget that you're also the only mother that little girl has." He stated it so bluntly. My fists clenched, frustrated that he could say it in his usual gruff, businessman-like way.

Masane stared him. "I know." I didn't think before speaking when I said what I had.

"Please, Masane, you need to live to watch her grow into womanhood." I said to her in a reassuring way, " The longer the better actually, since when you do perish the Witchblade will be passed down to her."

"Huh?!"

Takayama turned around and glared at me intensely. "Segawa!" I've never seen him look at me, or anyone like that before. I put up my hands in the motion of apology and said with a slight laugh in my voice (as I tend to laugh things off when worried and afraid),

"I'm sorry Director, but it's the truth. We know Reina's compatibility dropped greatly after giving birth to Rihoko—."

"What's he saying?!" Masane demanded. "Explain!" I heard him breathe deeply. He told her of how six years ago when Reina was working with the Douji group, she had tested very highly for compatibility with the Witchblade. However, after giving birth her test numbers began to decline dramatically. He said to her how the readings of Reina's compatibility were more than likely the readings of the unborn child growing inside of her; Rihoko.

"In short," I added, "You're only a temporary host until Rihoko is old enough. A place-holder of sorts."

"You're lying!" she yelled, standing up. "Rihoko…" Takayama turned around and glared even more intensely at me. Such fearsomeness was almost paralyzing. I think I knew then what Yagi felt when Wadou was angry with him.

"I apologize, sir, I honestly thought Masane had," he stood up, worry and fear filled me, "already realized this." I tried to smile to make him less angry at me. I pushed up my glasses. An aura surrounded Masane.

"Forget it. It _won't _happen." she stated. The red aura radiated even more around her as she clenched her hand around her wrist where the Witchblade was. "If it does—if anyone even tries to put this thing on Rihoko…I'll kill 'em myself."

Not only were Takayama and I surprised by her words, but also the physical change she went through. Her eyes had turned silver, much like how they did when she transformed, and the aura was astounding. She left after that, slamming the door behind her. A day at the beach with her and her friends must be nice, and I'll bet she looks really nice in a bikini. I can't remember the last time I went to a beach for a vacation. The flattery I felt when she offered to buy both Takayama and me souvenirs overwhelmed the fear I felt when Takayama glared at me so intently.

* * *

**I apologize for the very long delay. For a while I hadn't felt up to writing and then when I had I didn't want to end the chapter, which is why this is part one. So, did this first-person perspective bode well with you readers? Did you dislike it and/or feel that Hiroki was out of character? I've never done a whole chapter in first-person before. Reviews are much appreciated, and don't forget to point out any grammar and spelling errors I probably missed!**


	6. Decline: Part II

_Sometimes I believe that it's best not to hope in order to avoid being let down. It's better to hide your heart in order to avoid pain. What exactly is the point of forming a relationship if it is only doomed to fall apart? Whether through death, break-up, divorce, time, etc. Relationships of any sort, be they of friendship of love. Is the pain worth it? The flower of a venus fly-trap; sweet smelling, drawing close weak beings like myself towards it and into the sweet smelling trap itself. Much like the power she holds, if the venus fly trap consumes one too many insects, then it dies. If she consumes too much power, then she too will die. So he's there for her; her gardener. His job is to be sure that not too many insects of the world like myself get too close to her, for her safety. If I'm to be squished beneath his boots for her sake, then that's okay. This pain, is worth it. _

_

* * *

_

**Decline: Part II**

I woke up, preformed my morning routine and drove out to pick up the Director from his home. We were going through the gates to our building and I commented on the crowd protesting our making of weapons that was being louder than usual. He just said to take nothing of it and took some large gulps from the large water bottle he always carried around. He enquired about his schedule. "You're booked solid today. We're still playing a bit of catch-up due to all the time you've spent with Masane recently…" I replied to him. I tried not to sound rude or bitter, but the last of my sentence was tinged with bitter feelings. I looked to the side to see his eyebrows lowered, and his eyes closed. His expression wasn't pleasant. Even he could tell the hint of emotion in my voice. Takayama commented/threatened,

"Sounds like you have a complaint."

"Not at all sir." I said to him with my honest voice. I explained to him that I was just worried about how rapidly Wadou's project was proceeding, fearing that we would appear complacent in comparison. The man smirked and told me again that 'Wadou will fail'. Somewhat frustrated with him and his arrogance I told him that it may be easy for him to say that since he's known Wadou since college (which was a long time ago :P), but people can surprise you. I reminded him of the tale of 'The Tortoise and the Hare'. I quickly said then that calling him a hare would be too cute for his image. I should've thought of something better to say to make up for calling him a rabbit. Takayama, with his eyes closed and eyebrows narrowed still he told me with his arrogant voice that Wadou was the hare, looking for short cuts. I commented that that would be a disturbing image.

I trailed Takayama to the elevator that would take us to our next meeting, and what do you know? Wadou and his assistant Yagi were there just ahead of us, waiting for the elevator. Wadou, in his dark-scarlet suit turned towards us and said with that slimy voice of his, "Takayama, it's been a while."

"I hadn't noticed." Takayama said. Oh, Director, you make me laugh sometimes.

"The meeting should be fun. I have an announcement that I _know_ you're just going to _love_." the, as Masane once said, douche bag sneered.

"I can hardly wait." Takayama replied in his usual manner. I turned my head slightly to see my employer's and Wadou's faces.

"Well, you won't have to wait long." Wadou stated. I looked away and to the floor. His confidence worried me. What if things went badly for Takayama in the meeting? I stepped back and walked to behind Wadou and patted off his shoulder a speck of 'dust', it would be safer for my future if I got on his good side after all. I explained to him my actions.

"How kind of you." he said in his nasally voice. 'No problem.' I told him, then using my award winning cutie smile, as this girl in college once called it. The elevator beeped and the door opened. The two directors entered and then Yagi and me. They entered through the metal doors and that was the last we saw of them for a while. I waited in the lounge just a short distance from their room with the other assistants of the many directors attending the meeting. Two of the assistants were in charge of setting up the meeting room and apparently they had 'forgotten' to turn off the phone that sat in the middle of the table within the meeting room, so we were able to hear every single word in the room with much hilarity. Wadou presented his Witchblade Project and said that it was able to bind to a man. He asked Takayama's opinion, who said that it was very powerful and such. What a guy, asking for compliments like that. Wadou talked about how powerful it was, even more powerful than the I-weapons. A director commented that Wadou was going into Takayama's territory but Wadou just said that 'it was unavoidable.'. Just as Wadou was going into how many Ultimate blades (his product) would be sold, and how much money would be brought in, Takayama began to boldly state to Wadou that he would sell no more than one or two at the most. Wadou demanded why he would say that. The assistants and I were quiet as we listened in on the phone we turned on and put on speaker. The rustling of a paper was made and Takayama told Wadou how a client actually decided _not _to buy any Ultimateblades at all. Several of us snickered. Takayama then asked if Wadou had ever been on a battlefield. He waited a beat before continuing to say that modern warfare was about 'precision; strategic design with minimal loss of lift. All the things the Ultimateblade lacks.' Much more laughing ensued in the small lobby. Yagi and I hushed at them to be quiet, eager to hear what our directors were saying.

"What are you saying?!" we heard Wadou say.

"Because performance-wise, it's far inferior to the I-weapons." A few seconds passed before words. "Our clients want the best product for the job. You've done no more than play games on paper." Takayama finished. Inaudible whispering was heard in the meeting room while many of the men out here began laughing until they cried. Poor Yagi though. He was laughing just like the rest of us, but certainly not as hard. I could see fear in his eyes. What on earth does Wadou do to that poor man? Some people thanked Yagi and me for our bosses being the entertainment of the day.

I walked down the hallway behind Takayama and complimented him on his performance (as all the directors found out that the phone was on after the meeting was through, to their great dismay/amusement/horror (in the case of Wadou)). I commented how it seemed that Wadou had let down his guard, again. I thought over the time I brushed off that dust from him, glad that I hadn't switched to his side due to my wrong assumption that Wadou's plans would go well.

* * *

The following morning a detective named Nakata paid us a lovely visit. I stood behind Takayama who was sitting at his desk when the poorly-dressed, slightly insane looking man threw upon his desk a plastic bag containing bullet and a bullet shell. He said to us that the ammunition found at the crime scene was the kind used specifically for the military, and the only military using them was Douji. I tried to hide my disconcertment. Even the Director seemed a tad flustered. Nakata had with him some pictures of the recent murders (committed by ExCons), saying that they'd be impossible to be committed by normal people. He said more or less that all of his suspicions led him to us/Douji. I said to him casually, "I must say I'm impressed. You sound like the detectives I see on TV." Yeah, detectives I've seen on television when I was a child. Nakata grumbled and replied, somewhat sarcastically,

"Yeah, thanks." With the same sour expression on his face he said, "Look, Director Takayama, I'm not trying to accuse any of your employees of murder here," Yes, and I'm quite sure you aren't "We're just saying there may be some kind of connection."

"Meaning what?" Takayama asked, a bit too much emotion in his voice. Nakata swept out an obnoxious large white fan with 'Japan' in kanji on it and started to fan himself, even though we had air conditioning.

"Meaning maybe weapons were stolen, or an ex-employee leaked some top-secret data. There could be some psycho out there building replicas of your weapons right now." stated the unkempt man. This man is far too imaginative.

"That's absurd," I said to him as I adjusted my glasses, "the Douji Group security is flawless. Our corporate secrets would never be leaked to the outside." Takayama added,

"I'll advise our staff to be more strict with their information management. Is that all, detective?" The man scowled at us, bid his goodbye, and left. As I saw him enter his car from the parking lot I commented that it could've gone better, and that he probably didn't buy it for a second. I told Takayama that he'd probably be back, but he just said that Nakata'd get the same answers. He spoke of how Douji Industries would never be accused. "I imagine the detective already knows that." he said. His arrogance is frustrating.

"He must enjoy wasting his time." I commented. He told me to forget him (Nakata) and get back to the investigation of the murder last night. I obliged and left the room.

Damn it all. Someone had released some secretly taped video recordings of our ExCon clean-up crew to the media. Takayama later left for a meeting concerning the recent media outbreak.

It was official. Takayama had resigned from the special division. In fact, he had quit working for Douji entirely. My new boss was…Wadou. As I stared out the window thinking over this matter I spotted a familiar woman in a yellow sweater in the crowds. If they found out she worked for Douji… I walked down the hallway, power-walking when no one was in sight, and took the elevator. My heart beat quicker. Why was the elevator going so slowly? I ran across the skyline that reached to another building, took another elevator, and ran out the back door. I reached the front of the building and spotted her in the crowd. It seemed she was in an argument with some of the people in the angry mob. Some people looked at me strangely, probably because I was wearing a suit, but I weaved through the crowd to get to Masane.

"You wanna go?!" she yelled at a man. Before she, or the man, could start anything, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards me. A surprising warmth almost filled my heart.

"What do you _think_ you're _doing_?" I asked her. It came off meanly as my frustration from earlier rubbed off. She fell back and bumped into my chest. It was as if with every fiber of my being that she touched, she lit up something in my withered heart. She looked back to see just who was grabbing her wrist. She didn't seem that pleased to see me, but nor did she seem displeased, so that was fine to me. I let go of her wrist gently and apologized for grabbing her so suddenly. I entered through another entrance rather than the backdoor ( I didn't want any of the mob to find the backdoor) of the building I had exited, and rode up the elevator with her, all the while explaining to her all that had happened and was happening right now. Except… except the part about Reiji Takayama. I sighed and asked what gave her the idea she could waltz through the front door as we walked across the skyline together.

"Well I wouldn't have had to if I knew where the backdoor was!" she said.

"Then I'll show it to you." I explained to her that all of the employees were now using it. Should I hope again now that the hypotenuse of our love triangle is gone? Is it right of me to do this? After all, she doesn't even know that Wadou's now her employer.

"So is Douji gonna be alright?" she asked me in a nicer tone, "I mean, all this stuff has gotten out—."

"Don't worry." I reassured her. "Large corporations like Douji have their own unique ways of survival." It was really nice. Regardless of all the negative commotion on the streets surrounding Douji and in the media, it was a nice blue day. The sun's rays cast brilliant waves of light onto the glass ceiling and walls of the skyline. A golden glow was set around Masane. This ended of course as soon as we entered the next building. We went up another elevator. Masane was telling me about her time at an amusement park with Rihoko and all the clothes she had bought her. She spoke to me as a friend…

We entered Takayama's— er, Wadou's office asking him to pardon our intrusion. I walked over to behind the sofa opposite of where Wadou sat. Masane seemed surprised to see Wadou there.

"Hey, aren't you that… guy?" she asked. She and I locked eyes for a second, both of us thinking, "_He's that douche bag." _I'm glad we have now an inside joke.

"And you're the girl from my award party. Oh, dear… I'd never suspect _you _were the bearer of the Witchblade." he commented to her.

"Where's Takayama?" Masane asked. She really did seem concerned. I should have told her.

"He's no longer with Douji." Wadou said in almost a sneer. Her eyes widened.

"What are you saying?!"

I checked my watch. Actually, Takayama should be in a press conference of sorts right about now, clarifying that he takes full responsibility of the matter and his resignation from Douji. Masane sat down on the couch opposite Wadou. "Takayama quit his job?"

"Correct," Wadou answered. He said to her that all Witchblade affairs handled by the Special Division would now be taken on by himself. Terribly enough, he included my name in the conversation; telling how I would still take care of the business-side of things.

"I'm looking forward to continuing our work together Masane." I said to her, giving a reassuring smile. She seemed disconcerted.

"So, wait a minute. So, basically I've been switched from Takayama to you, just like that?" Wadou replied that we (Douji) need the Witchblade in order to continue our research. He said that we/he/Douji would like to mass-produce the Ultimateblade but there are some technical issues with it.

"What we're saying is that for now we still have plenty of work for you. Isn't that great?" I said to her. My confidence in our relationship building was quickly slipping away.

"Screw a whole bunch of that!" Masane got up. "I'm outta here." I really hated pulling this car, but my job (and possibly safety, concerning Wadou's temperament) was on the line as well.

"What about Rihoko?" I asked. She stopped before the door. "Douji will go on with or without you. If you quit now the only one who stands to suffer is her."

"I understand you were attached to Takayama," Wadou said. Oh, shut up Wadou. "But, business is business and we need you Miss Amaha." He told her that the Bio Division (his section) pays well, benefiting both her and her daughter. She clenched her fists and gave in.

* * *

The following day…

I entered the office with freshly printed papers in my hand. "A breath-taking view, isn't it?" I asked Wadou as he stared/glared out the window. "Takayama would often stand there—."

"Segawa," he said, "I'd rather not hear that name first thing in the morning." A bit cranky this morning, huh? I apologized and relayed to him that he was to attend a meeting concerning the Special and Bio Divisions at ten in the morning. He sat down and commended me on how quickly I had switched sides from Takayama to him, especially after all my years of working with Takayama. I told him that my job had always been to serve Douji's directors, nothing more. So there were no sides to switch to. He said how convenient it was since his secretary had resigned. I enquired why Yagi had quite so suddenly, but he knew not. From rumors I've heard, I can't blame Yagi. The sound of the door opening drew my attention.

"Good morning I'm here!" yelled a familiar voice. Masane came running in and stood by my side. She wore a blue suit and carried a brown purse. I really liked her usual attire much better. The suit made her look a bit fat, not to mention how uncomfortable she seemed in it. Wadou looked at his watch and complained that she was three minutes late. Give her a break, you douche bag. "I'm sorry sir!" she said, giving a slight bow.

"Listen, Miss Amaha, unlike your previous employer I'm not paying you anything if you don't follow my rules." Wadou said to her. She apologized again. He looked her over. "Your attire is passable for today, however that will not work for the party tomorrow."

Masane asked him, "What party?" He explained to her that he had to go to a party tomorrow, and that she was to escort him.

"With you? Are you serious?" She had a dumbfounded look on her face.

"What's the matter? Having trouble following orders?" he said, slightly annoyed that she said that in such a way. She replied a 'no sir' and said that she would be there. Masane left the room looking a tad down. I asked Wadou if I should take care of her attire, his answer being a yes. I had just barely left the room when I heard Wadou cackle and yell something like 'I did it! The Witchblade, the woman, _and _the secretary; All of them belong to _me _now!' I sighed and closed the door quietly behind me. He truly was a madman. I tried to catch up with Masane as she was walking down the hallway.

Evening came by and I was just finished with a load of paperwork. I commented to Wadou that since the Special and Bio Divisions had merged, and him as its Director, he would have much more work to do. He said he wasn't worried about being overwhelmed by the workload, saying he had handled twice as much before this. "Sounds as if you've worked hard for where you are, how inspiring." I said, my job also being in raising the self-esteem of Douji's directors.

"I simply do the work that no one else wants to touch. You can have an office with this yourself if you work hard enough."

"I never acquired a taste for hard work." I said to him, "Besides, if I ever made it this far up, I'd always be worried about who might push me off." I stared out the window. The city lights was its own blanket of stars and clouds blacked out any moon there was that night. Wadou leaned back in his chair. He asked if I was implying that he would fall in Takayama's footsteps. "I meant in general. People in power always have other people behind them. And those who have fallen often come crawling back up…. So much responsibility, and always having to watch your back-- I could never do it." Just like my courage in facing relationships. I turned to Wadou and commended him for his ability to grasp power so fearlessly. He laughed in a slightly creepy way and said that any who attempted to gain power should always have a great level of resolve. He reached for his tea cup; his hand was trembling for whatever reasons. I didn't ask why.

* * *

It was around 7:45 AM when I gave a call to Masane. I stood in Wadou's office, Wadou being out for the time being at one of his many meetings. The phone rang for a few seconds before I heard a young voice answer,

"Hello?" I could only guess who it was and so I said,

"Miss Rihoko? This is Mr. Segawa, I was the assistant of Mr. Takayama?" She didn't hesitate a second before exclaiming,

"Oh! I could never forget you Mr. Segawa! Uh, my mom's getting ready for work, do you need her?"

"Yes, I do. Could you please have her call me before she leaves?"

"Uh huh! Anything else?"

"Nothing at all. Have a nice day Rihoko—." I ceased speaking when I heard Masane ask in the background why on earth Rihoko was on her phone. She said to her mother that Mr. Segawa was on the phone and wanted to talk to her. She asked for the phone but Rihoko chirped 'Bye Mr. Segawa!' before handing it to Masane.

"Hey, Segawa, what's up? I need to leave soon so could you make this quick?" she asked him. I don't think I've ever spoken on the phone before with her.

"Actually, it's concerning that party you're to attend with Mr. Wadou tonight." I said to her. A second passed before she mumbled,

"Oh, yeah… that."

"Well I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the same boutique as last time so that you may try on some things. I've been charged with attending to your clothing selection." I wasn't too happy either about her being Wadou's date that night.

"Yeah, sure. …Hey, can I bring Rihoko along?" she asked.

"Forgive me, Masane, but Rihoko can't come with us to the party tonight. Mr. Wadou isn't as kindly towards children as Mr. Takayama."

"Yeah," she chortled, "I kinda figured that. But I want to buy some stuff for her!"

I laughed and gave in, "Yes, of course she may come. I'll pick you two up at 1:00 PM then. Good bye."

"Bye."

I flipped my phone shut and put it in my pocket. I didn't really mind that it wouldn't be just the two of us. Having Rihoko there might make it less awkward anyway.

* * *

**This was the other half the of the original chapter I split into two. Does it follow too closely to the anime, even with the lines (most are extracted directly from the dubbed anime)? I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for reading this far. **


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